Eight Steps to Heaven
by unopeneddoors
Summary: Eight Steps was all it took to make Lily Evans fall in love with James Potter, despite her absolute determination not to. After all how many times can someone take being turned down to the prom before they get the message? Please Review :


**Eight Steps to Heaven**

**Incident number one **

**8:30 AM **

**One week until prom**

Lily Evans hated James Potter. She always had and she always will; it was a fact of life, and it didn't exactly help that he persisted to ask her to the prom when she had neither the interest nor the funds to accept his offer.

"Well will you?" James asked her one morning as she and Alice Prewett made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, the marauders sniggering close behind them.  
"Will I what, Potter?" Lily replied, looking rather bored as she sat at the Gryffindor table and pulled a stack of toast towards her.

"Will you go to the prom with me, Evans?"  
"No."  
"Why not?"

"Because you're an irritating little git, Potter," Lily sighed, "Now please let me eat my breakfast in peace for once."

"Not until you say yes," James said, placing a hand on the table so that it separated her from her toast.  
"Well I won't," Lily said, stealing the hot spoon from Alice's tea and placing it on his hand, to which James yelped and clutched it to his chest, allowing Lily the space to pull the toast towards her again.  
"Well I can't possibly leave you alone then, can I?" James smirked, waving his hand to cool it down.

Lily groaned and ripped a bite out of the buttery toast with her teeth as James ruffled his hair and squeezed himself between herself and Alice who didn't even bother hiding the wide grin on her face.

"If you went with me I swear I won't be a pest," James said, turning towards her.

"Potter you can't stop being a pest, it's who you are."  
"It's not! You only think it is!" James said, grabbing onto her wrist before she could take another bite of her toast. "Please?" He asked, making his eyes as large as possible, "I promise I'll be on my best behaviour."  
"Potter, you've asked me the same question every day for the past three weeks, do you honestly think my answer's going to change the more you pester me?"  
"Well… I was sort of going for that approach," James grinned and Lily yanked her wrist from his grip, rolling her eyes.

"If you had the slightest inkling of a brain you'd have realised that that approach doesn't work very well seeing as it's done nothing for you for the past six years."

"Look," James sighed, "I promise you'll have a good time, I'll even try to make it the best night of your life."

"How do you know that I haven't already been asked, anyway?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow to which James' eyes widened, "I could have accepted someone else's offer."

"But…but you haven't, have you?" James said looking uncertain.  
"I might have," Lily said, taking another bite of toast and glancing sideward at James who looked like he was going to explode.

"You're going with that slimy git Diggory aren't you?" James said angrily.

"I might be," Lily said looking smug, "And he's not a slimy git, he's actually quite sweet."

"You're not," James said definitely making up his mind.  
"Believe what you want to."  
"Oh for heavens sake Lily, will you just go with him?" Alice said desperately, "He's beginning to get on my nerves as well, and it's the only way you'll ever get him to shut up!"

"Whose side are you on, Alice?" Lily asked outraged, craning her neck to get a better look at who she thought was her best friend.

"So you're _**not**_ going with Diggory then?" James said, looking hopeful again.

"Oh for crying out loud!" Lily said getting up.

"Where are you going?" James asked.

"I can't listen to you going on anymore!" She said picking up her bag and throwing it over her shoulder before reaching over and grabbing a couple more slices of toast.  
"Just say yes then!"  
"Bye Potter," Lily said over her shoulder as she took another mouthful and left for potions.

"Evans!" James called after her, "Evans!" But Lily just ignored him, leaving James, Alice and her fellow Gryffindors behind.

"Still no luck then mate?" Sirius asked, shimmying further up the bench to fill in the gap Lily had left behind.

"No," James groaned with his head in his hands, "Thanks for the back up though, Alice." Alice continued to read the Daly Profit as she carelessly waved her hand in a way that said 'any time' without averting her eyes towards them.

"Perhaps you should just ask someone else," Remus said, bunching his lips to the side.

"But I don't want to ask anyone else!" James groaned, pressing his forehead to the table, "Why won't she just go out with me? I bet she only left because Diggory's finally finished scoffing the entire contents of the Hufflepuff table…"

"Or it could have something to do with the fact that you never leave her alone…" Alice shrugged, "Just a suggestion."  
"Wait," James said sitting up, "_**Has **_she been asked to the prom by anyone else or is she just saying that?"  
"Yeah she genuinely has," Alice said casually, "She's turned them all down though."  
"Can't be you then mate," Sirius said shaking his head, "Evans just mustn't be a prom sort of girl."

"Was Diggory one of them?" James asked suspiciously.  
"Mhm…"  
"I knew it!" James said angrily, "The git's always ogling at her in Transfiguration…"  
"I wouldn't worry about it; the girl's crazy and doesn't seem to have any interest in him. She seems to be completely immune to his gorgeousness," She said as James shot her an evil look, "Oh, right, sorry."

"Oh I just need to make her love me!" James whined.  
"Yeah good luck with that," Alice chuckled turning the page and the marauders looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"You know what Alice, I agree with Lily, "James said finally, "Whose side _**are **_you on?"

**Incident number two**

**4:45 PM**

**Six days to go**

"I just can't figure it out," Alice groaned, gazing miserably at her potions essay as Lily sunbathed on the grass next to her, "If you add wolfsbane won't you counteract the entire point of the potion?"

"You only use the pollen; it's the weird stuff in the chloroform that would counteract it," Lily said with her eyes closed.

"How do you know so much about potions?" Alice said jealously, "Don't you find it boring?"  
"Alice, when you're muggle born and people tell you that these things don't exist outside of fairy stories and movies and then you suddenly find out that it does, not one bit of it can be boring…well apart from muggle studies of course because-"

"So what colour dress are you going to be wearing then?" came a voice from somewhere above her and Lily's heart sank as a shadow blocked out her sunlight.

"Leave me alone Potter," She snarled, "I'm relaxing and you mess up my karma." But James took no notice and plonked himself down on the grass next to her.

"Well, the thing is Evans; I have an important question to-"  
"No," Lily said quickly, "No I will not."

"That wasn't what I was going to ask you," James said and it annoyed Lily that she could hear the grin in his voice.

"Go on then. What's your question?" She asked impatiently.  
"What colour dress are you wearing to the prom?"

"And why do you want to know that?"  
"I thought prom dates were supposed to match?" James said simply, "I thought it was important for girls not to clash with their dates?"  
"Well you don't have to worry about that, do you Potter? Because you're not my date and I thought you weren't going to ask me that question?"

"Well I didn't _**ask**_ it, did I? I just implied it," James grinned and Lily groaned and rolled out from under his shadow until she laid there in the sun a few metres away. James chuckled softly and crawled over to her, sitting next to her and leaning on one arm, gazing down at her amorously causing Alice to roll her eyes and bury her head in her potions essay once more.

"Evans, don't you think that it's finally time to stop playing hard to get?" James said softly, "I get it; you don't have to try and hide it anymore. I know you fancy me."  
"Get lost Potter," Lily snarled, her eyes closing even tighter in frustration as he blocked her sunlight once again. Gently, James rolled onto his front next to her, so close he could feel her body heat radiating off of her.

"Please go with me Evans…" James said quietly and Lily opened her eyes for the first time.

"Will you ever just leave me alone?" She sighed, meeting his gaze.

"You know I won't," James grinned.

"Where are your cronies?" Lily tried, "Aren't they lost without their ringleader?"

"They'll live without me for a few minutes," James smiled, sitting up, "They know I'm trying to woo you once again Evans so I doubt they'll bother us if that's what you're worrying about."

"Why do you even bother with me?" Lily asked, "As soon as I agree to going out with you or even go to the prom with you, you'd get bored of me and move onto some other girl."  
"I would not!"  
"You would," Lily insisted, "Boys like you only enjoy the thrill of the chase."  
"Boys like me?" James asked with a raised eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Mr popular," Lily said, sitting up so they were almost nose to nose, causing James to cower a little seeing as he had been caught completely off guard; he had never been this close to her before and he certainly hadn't expected it to have been her doing if he had ever had the chance to get so close. He could see everything from the tiny markings in her lips, the exact point where her eyes changed from one shade of green to another within her iris' and the way each eyelash lengthened and thickened to create the perfect black almond frame around them, so mesmerising that he found himself examining each tiny feature before him.

"Mr popular James Potter with the messy hair and the, I quote, **'**_**gorgeous' **_eyes and the Quidditch captain _**and**_ head boy badges pinned to his robe," She said with a smile, "Everyone boy wants to be his best friend and every girl wants to be his bit on the side."

With a twitch of her lips she leaned in even further, so close that James could feel her breath mingling with his and for one dazzling moment he thought their mouths were going to meet until she pulled away at the last minute.

"Do you really expect me to believe that with all the pretty girls falling at your feet that you'd really be that interested in a little slug-club muggle born, if she hadn't turned you down quite so many times?"

"W-what?" James stammered, still a little dazed by how close he had come to kissing Lily Evans.

"You're only interested in this because I'm not, Potter, even if you don't realise it. I was just wondering if I should just kiss you and get it over with….then you might just leave me alone after having realised that I'm right yet again," Lily said, tilting her head to the side, "But I just can't bring myself to do it. I wouldn't want to give you the satisfaction." And with that, Lily stood and walked over to where Alice was sat, who was quite openly sat a few metres away from where they had lay in the grass with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide.

"Finished your essay?" Lily asked casually.

"How do you expect me to have finished it after what I just saw?" Alice whispered as James nervously adjusted his glasses.

**Incident number three**

**3:30PM**

**Five days to go**

"Please?"  
"No…"

"Please?"  
"Never."  
"…How about now?"  
"No, Potter!"  
"Is everything Ok back there Miss Evans?" Professor McGonagall asked as Lily slammed her Transfiguration book onto the desk.

"Yes," she spat, swallowing back her anger, "Everything's fine, Professor."

In fact, it wasn't. James still hadn't given up on pestering her to go to the prom with him, and no matter how much she refused, he still kept coming back with the same question.

"Now, now Evans, no need to lose your temper," James whispered out of the corner of his mouth, not bothering to hide the giant grin on his face, "It doesn't matter that you don't have a date yet. I'm sure there are plenty of other girls that haven't. Oh I know! Why don't _**we **_go together?"  
"Cram it, Potter," Lily snapped before she accidentally turned her watering can into a miniature ostrich.

"Mmm…" McGonagall said disapprovingly over Lily's shoulder, "Perhaps you need to try this spell again Miss Evans when your mind is less occupied with prom dresses and dance partners."  
"It's not me professor!" Lily said desperately, "Potter-"  
"I have no interest in your choice of date, Evans," McGonagall said, rolling her eyes.

"See even McG-_**Professo**_r McGonagall thinks that we should go together!" James chuckled, correcting himself before McGonagall glared at him for skipping out the 'professor' yet again.

"Maybe a second attempt would turn out better?" McGonagall repeated before leaving the pair behind, "Longbottom, it's your _**watering can **_you're supposed to be turning into a miniature Swedish blue dragon, not _**Miss Prewett**_, so perhaps you could avert your eyes from Alice for just a few seconds of your time and concentrate more on the spell?"  
"Seriously though, Evans; why not?" James said looking a little bit more deflated than usual.

"I'm not going to have this conversation with you again, Potter," Lily said quietly as she reversed the spell, "I thought yesterday afternoon would have given you the message."

"Couldn't you just give me a chance? And if you don't like it I'll never bother you again!"

"I doubt you'll ever leave me alone, Potter," Lily sighed as she finally managed to turn her watering can into a tiny blue dragon.

"But couldn't you even-"  
"Look Potter, I don't want to go with you. That's all I have to say on the subject, so stop asking me. You've been pestering me to go out with you for the past six years and I've said no every time. What will it take for you to get the message?"  
"No Lily, what will it take for you to get the message that I'm serious about us?" James said, a slight hint of anger in his voice.  
"What '_**us**_'?" Lily insisted.

"About the idea of us being an item! You keep telling me that I'm not serious enough to go out with; that I'll probably get bored of you and move onto someone else. It's been _**six years**_, Evans and a day hasn't gone past when I haven't let you know how I've felt. When are _**you**_ going to realise that I'm not fooling around?"

Both Lily and James stared at each other, each of them not quite knowing what to say to fill the awkward silence. But before Lily could respond, Professor McGonagall swiftly interrupted her.

"Ok seventh years, I want you to practise this spell for the next couple of days until our next lesson. I expect it to be perfect by then!"

Lily sighed, shoving her books and quills in her bag as fast as possible.

"Look, I'm sorry but I can't ok?" She said trying not to meet his gaze.

"You keep saying that but you never tell me why," James mumbled quietly, staying in his seat.

"Just forget it, ok?" Lily said, throwing her bag over her shoulder as Alice suddenly appeared behind her.

"Let's go," She said and both she and Alice left the classroom, leaving James to pack up his spell book and quills silently and dejected.

**Incident number four**

**8:00PM**

**Four days to go**

"Lily, guess what?" Alice squealed as she burst through the door to the girl's dormitories and jumped onto the end of Lily's bed.

"Sirius Black has suddenly realised that his many, many girlfriends are a desperate call for help due to his hidden homosexuality?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow, tickling her chin with her quill as she lay on the bed over a notebook.

"Erm…no…" Alice said thoughtfully, "But wouldn't it be interesting if that was true?"  
"I'm sure I'd be positively miserable at women's loss of such an attractive man," Lily replied sarcastically causing Alice to giggle further.  
"But no…Frank has asked me to Prom!" She said excitedly.

"Finally," Lily smirked, "I should think if he hadn't have asked you, McGonagall would have _**for**_ him; he's always staring at you during her lessons. It must drive her mad."

"Have you decided who you're going with yet?" Alice asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You make it sound like everybody's falling at my feet," Lily said looking uncomfortable.

"Erm only Diggory, Osbourne and Potter," Alice laughed, "Probably the most attractive selection of men Hogwarts has to offer!"  
"You think Potter is attractive?" Lily asked with a doubtful expression.

"He has the most amazing eyes and his hair gives him that rugged look!" Alice said enthusiastically, "I think he's gorgeous!"

"Well why didn't you tell me that?" Lily said outraged, "You could have taken him off of my back!"  
"Oh no way," Alice grinned, "Everybody knows Potter's yours and you're going to get married and have tonnes of mini James'"

"Shut up, Alice," Lily grumbled, throwing a pillow at her.

"Ok so if not Potter then who are you going with?" Alice asked, tidying her now ruffled hair by threading her fingers through it.

"No one," Lily said plainly, turning the page of her note book before she began doodling.

"No one?" Alice asked confused.

"Yep,"  
"But…why not? It's not like you haven't been asked."

"I know…I'm just not going," Lily said so quietly that it was almost as if she hadn't wanted Alice to hear.

"Ok…_**what?**_" Alice shrieked looking positively shocked, "_**Why**_?"

"Look, being muggle born has complications," Lily sighed, "The only wizarding money I have is the money the school gives me which goes towards books and other little things and my sister's already blowing all of my parents' money on stuff, so I don't really want to ask them to pay for my prom dress, ticket and the muggle to wizard exchange rate as well."

"But Lily, you have to come!" Alice said looking shocked, "Everybody will be there!"  
"How would I afford it?" Lily said, "My birthday is midway through the summer so there was no point in me getting a job as soon as I became legal to work in the wizarding world. Basically Alice, I'm not going. I would if I could but I can't."  
"So…is that the only reason you're turning James down?" Alice asked slyly.

"Alice it's the reason I've turned Potter, Osbourne and Diggory down, not just Potter," Lily said with narrowed eyes, "Besides I would have turned Potter down anyway."  
"You sure about that? You almost kissed him yesterday."  
"Only to prove a point," Lily argued, "I bet if I had he wouldn't be so interested in me anymore. He would have boasted it around the school like there was no tomorrow and then it would have been old news. I know Potter."

"Well I'm not so sure," Alice said doubtfully, "Would he have really bothered for six years?"  
"Potter is stubborn, that's all there is to it," Lily said sternly, "You've seen him on the Quidditch pitch. He's competitive and he won't give up; this whole thing is like a game to him."  
"But I've seen the way he looks at you," Alice said quietly.

"Well so have I but you could hardly call it romantic," Lily said rolling her eyes.

"No, not when he's flirting," Alice said, "When you're not looking."

"Oh," was all Lily could say, not entirely sure about how to respond to what Alice had just said.

"He looks at you with this…smouldering look," Alice said, squinting her eyes as she tried to concentrate, "And he looks sort of…sad. I dunno; I've never been very poetic. But I can tell that when he looks at you he's absolutely miserable."  
"I'm not sure that's all that romantic either, Alice…" Lily said truthfully.

"Well I did say I wasn't good at this sort of thing!" Alice retaliated, "Look, if you saw it, you'd understand ok?"

"Right, thing is, I wont will I?" Lily smirked, "Because he only does it when I'm not looking…"

This time it was Alice's turn to throw the pillow.

**Incident number five**

**6:00PM**

**Three Days to go**

"How about Lidia Bishop?" Sirius asked as the marauders sat at the edge of the lake, skimming a pebble on the waters surface.

"Doesn't she eat her hair?" Remus asked looking over the top of his book.

"Yeah I've seen her do it!" Wormtail giggled and James sighed.

"Well even if she didn't, I wouldn't…" He said sadly.

"Yeah she's not that much of a looker now that I think about it," Sirius said picking another pebble up off of the floor.

"No it's not that, I think I just won't go with anyone."

"What?" Sirius asked looking shocked, "But James mate, even Wormtail has a date!"  
"Hey!" Wormtail said with wide eyes and Remus smirked sneakily behind his book.

"What I mean is we're all going with someone, we were going to all go together!" Sirius explained.

"When did you suddenly become unavailable?" James asked turning to look at Remus.

"Rachel Gibson asked me about three days ago when you were pestering Lily to go with you," Remus said casually.

"_**Rachel Gibson**_!" James asked, "How the hell did you manage that? She even turned Sirius down! She's gorgeous!"  
"I know," Remus grinned impishly, "Apparently she likes 'the quiet type'."

"Rub it in guys," Sirius said sourly, "She broke my perfect no rejection record…anyway, loads of girls have asked you. Why don't you just pick one of them?"  
"Because they've probably been asked by someone else by now…and anyway, they're not Lily," James said causing Sirius to roll his eyes.

"The problem with you mate, is that you're too soppy," he said, skipping the pebble he was holding, "If you're going to be stuck on Lily Evans for the rest of your life, you're going to end up as one of those lonely old men who spend their lives sitting in musty old arm chairs eating cubes of cheese."  
"Cubes of cheese?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's not the point," Sirius snapped, "What I'm trying to say is that Evans will never go out with you mate, she's told you that enough times."

"Thanks for the support, Sirius," James grumbled.

"Yeah well…oh hang on a second! OI OI!" Sirius called out suddenly as Frank and Alice unexpectedly pounced on each other in the distance.

"Shut up Sirius!" Alice yelled back as they broke apart and Frank turned beetroot.

"Finally did it then mate?" Sirius grinned giving Frank a thumbs up, "About bloody time and all!"

"Right, I'm coming over there!" Alice bellowed as she dragged Frank towards them.

"Here comes trouble," Sirius grinned as Alice reached them. Grabbing a handful of pebbles she threw them hard at Sirius before giggling and hiding behind Frank before Sirius had time to retaliate.

"Where's Lily?" James asked suddenly noticing the absence of her best friend and panicking, "She's not with Diggory is she?"

"No," Alice said, poking her head around Frank as Sirius rubbed the patches of skin the pebbles had pelted, "She said she was going to the Library."  
"Oh," James said looking relaxed.

"I told you not to worry about it James," Alice insisted, "She's not even going to the prom let alone with Diggory."

"She's not going to the prom?" James asked flabbergasted as Remus once again looked up from his book.

"I told you she wasn't a prom sort of girl," Sirius shrugged.

"Why isn't she going?" Wormtail asked as he watched Sirius skip another pebble in awe.  
"I…erm…" Alice said looking uncomfortable, "Well she said she couldn't make it because-"

"She said she couldn't afford it," Frank shrugged and Alice thumped him on the shoulder, "What?"

"I don't think she wanted everyone to know!" Alice said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"She can't afford it?" James asked.

"Well that's what she said," Alice sighed now that there was no point in hiding it, "She said that muggle borns only get a certain amount from the school and that's it, so she wont be able to buy a dress and pay for the ticket. Apparently it's expensive for muggles to exchange money."

"So…was that the only reason she turned me down?" James asked, a small smile spreading across his face.

"No, she said even if she wasn't skint that she wouldn't' go with you," Frank said bluntly, receiving yet another thump on the arm from Alice.  
"You need to know when to be quiet Frank!"

**Incident number six**

**4:15PM**

**Two Days to go**

Lily sat in the common room with her transfiguration book in her lap and a small watering can in her hand.

"Dariverto!" She said quietly and within an instant the watering can turned into the small blue dragon she had expected. Smiling, she placed the dragon on the table and let it explore the surface as she searched for the reversal spell.

"Hi, Evans," came that familiar voice and Lily sighed as she gazed upon James Potter once more.

"What do you want now Potter?" Lily asked as James took a seat next to her.

"I just wanted to know…if you're ok," James said casually and Lily stared at him in disbelief.

"…Are you sure that's it?" She asked apprehensively.

"Yeah," James nodded, "So…how are you?"  
"Look Potter, if this is some method to get me into going to prom with you-"

"I'm trying to have a decent conversation with you, Evans," James said simply, "What you said…a couple of days ago, made me realise that…well…maybe you're right. Maybe I would get bored of you-"  
"So you'll leave me alone?" Lily asked with a furrowed brow, clearly she wasn't convinced.

"Wait, let me finish," James said a little disgruntled, "Maybe I would get bored of you because…I don't know much about you."

"Oh…" Lily replied, fiddling with a bent corner of her spell book.

"So…let me get to know you!" James said enthusiastically.

"Potter even if you did get to know me better-"

"Please Lily," James asked, making Lily feel a little uncomfortable; he rarely called her by her first name, "Even if you never feel the same way about me…at least it will be better than this." Lily held her breath as she stared at James, unsure of what to say at this moment in time. She didn't like arguing with James, that much was true but she wasn't exactly sure that she wanted to 'get to know him 'either. If she was being perfectly honest, she wouldn't have willingly devoted a lot of time to James Potter…if any at all.

"Alright Potter," She sighed, "But make it quick because I have to learn the reverse spell for Dariverto before tomorrow."

"Ok…well erm…what's your favourite animal?" James said spontaneously, catching sight of the dragon.

"My favourite animal?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow, "Why do you want to know that?"

" Well let's make it interesting," James shrugged, "I personally like elephants. I've always wanted one of those ones you can get in Diagon alley that they shrink to the size of a cat but my mum didn't like the idea of it squirting water everywhere…"

"They do those?" Lily said, highly amused.

"Yeah," James grinned, thrilled that he was actually making her smile, "So what would you have if you could get something in miniature?"

"Hmmm…" Lily said thoughtfully, before a large grin spread across her face, "Maybe a koala so that it could wrap itself around your little finger."

"I hardly knew you were so imaginative, Evans," James smirked, "So are you a coffee or tea person?"  
"I like both," Lily smiled.

"So do I," James said, "Coffee in the morning and tea when I need a pick me up, but other than that I don't drink either."  
"Same," Lily said, picking up the miniature dragon and turning it around before it fell off of the table.

"Toast and butter or toast and jam?" James asked, "Personally I like both but I would never mix the two."  
"Same for me!" Lily beamed, "Finally someone who understands! Lovely on their own, horrible together; they ruin each other. Alice just doesn't get it."

"And I have to have every bit of the toast smothered in it, right up to the edges."  
"Me too! Sometimes I even go on the side of the crusts."

"So what's your favourite colour?" James asked.

"Green."  
"…Mine too," James said quietly although he was glad that he didn't have to explain why.

"Ok now I know you're lying," Lily said in disbelief, staring at him with his favourite colour.  
"I'm actually not," James smiled, "Regrettably, seeing as it _**is**_ Slytherin's colour. You just never knew we had so much in common."  
"I guess not…" Lily said thoughtfully and it surprised her. They had only been talking for five minutes sure, but it felt as though James was so easy to talk to. The conversation flowed and the awkwardness was non existent. Perhaps she would give him the chance to get to know him better; maybe she had been a little harsh on him after all. Besides, if they had so many unusual traits in common who knew what else they had in common? Perhaps they could even turn out to be good friends. Perhaps one day she would even be able to have a civilized conversation with him…

_**Or not…**_

"Ok, what's your favourite number?" Lily said, wanting to carry on; what other unusual things could she find out about James Potter?  
"I've never actually thought about it…" James said as he tried to think about it there and then.

"You know what? Me neither, that was just out of pure interest. I never understood how people even begin to think about having a favourite number if it doesn't have a meaning behind it."

"Ok, well what's your favourite letter?"  
"People have favourite letters?"  
"Well I don't know. Why not if people have favourite numbers?"  
"True," Lily laughed.  
"Does anything in particular really annoy you? Other than me of course…" James grinned.

"I can't think of any in particular…other than you of course," Lily smiled back, "But I do find it weird when people say 'can I ask you a question?' and you're sort of left thinking….you just did."  
"I never thought about that," James laughed.

"Me and Tuney used to say…" Lily laughed before it trailed into nothingness and within moments the bud that had blossomed into Lily had closed once more, shutting James out.

"Tuney?" James asked, "Is that your sister?"  
"Yeah…yeah it is…" Lily said quietly, "Petunia's her full name."

"Lily and Petunia?" James smiled, "That's quite cute."  
"Yeah I spose," Lily said quietly, before suddenly picking up her spell book again, "You know, I think I better finish this."

"Are you ok?" James asked looking concerned.  
"Yeah I'm fine," Lily said falsely, "Why wouldn't I be?"  
"You kind of stopped talking the moment you mentioned your sister. You said Tuney-"James began but stopped as soon as he saw Lily's big green eyes fill with tears, "Lily…?"

When she didn't answer James placed tentative hands on her juddering shoulders, trying to follow her eyes and make eye contact.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he asked softly moving to pull her into a loose hug.

"Sorry," She said quickly, standing up so that the book fell off of her lap, crashing to the floor before she made a dash for the girls' dormitories leaving a rather confused James behind.

**Incident number seven**

**5:37PM**

**The eve before prom**

_**Stupid Lily. Stupid, stupid Lily.**_

Lily sat bent over her notebook by the lake completely alone as the sun began to set, painting rippling golden streaks across the waters calm surface. Feeling completely embarrassed by last night events, she pretended to look busy, doodling on the blank pages of her notebook as other students frolicked in the water in the distance. She liked that the lake was so large that she was almost obscured from sight, hardly anybody ventured to the mountains because they were so far away.

What must James had thought of her after being so stupid? Who cries as easily as she had?

_**No one that's who.**_

It had just come out of nowhere, the overwhelming grief for the loss of her sister. And yes, it was a loss; Petunia would never see her as anything other than a freak ever again. Perhaps it was the fact that she hadn't talked about her sister for a long time. Perhaps it was because she was caught off guard. It had been such an unusual situation, talking to James about Petunia. Why would he care anyway?

Lily rested her head on one of her hands as she casually picked up a handful of stones and threw them into the lake, watching as the ripples formed and grew , scattering the gold.

_**But he had cared. **_

He hadn't laughed at her, he hadn't mocked her, he hadn't joked, he hadn't tried to take advantage of her like the James Potter she thought she knew. He'd tried to comfort her and by the lightness of his touch, it was obvious that he'd been nervous about doing it; he hadn't wanted to get her even more upset by his touch. He'd taken note of the fact that she had previously despised it by the way she had yelled at him before many a time he'd tried. And yet, this time it had in fact been welcome. Maybe that's why she had reacted the way she had. Maybe it was because she had momentarily forgotten the fact that it was James Potter that she was crying in front of, that she had almost let him hold her because she had needed someone. When she'd snapped out of it she had freaked out. It just wasn't natural to be in that situation, to think that perhaps one day herself and James could be close.

"Hi Lily," came a nervous voice, causing Lily to jump

"Oh," Lily said turning to face none other than James Potter himself. Had he followed her or something? She hadn't seen him behind her. He was using her first name again; clearly he wanted an explanation for last night.

"Potter what you are doing here?" she said suspiciously.

"Seems like this place is another thing we have in common," James said with a small smile, "I always come here when I want a bit of peace and quiet."  
"Oh," Lily said feeling stupid for actually thinking that he might have been following her.

"Can I sit with you?" James asked when she said nothing else, "I bought your dragon…and your spell book. You sort of left them behind yesterday so I though I'd better pick them up for you."  
"Thanks," Lily smiled as he handed her both, placing the tiny dragon the palm of her hand as it screeched in protest.

James took a seat next to her by the waters edge and together they sat in silence as they sky continued to darken above them, neither wanting to break the rare moment's peace they had between them. Not wanting to make it obvious what he was doing, James stared at Lily without moving his head, admiring the way the sun's dying glow made her hair appear redder and softer than ever and he swooned at the thought of touching it, of twiddling it between his fingers, of loosing himself in it as he softly nuzzled her neck…

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Lily said quietly, causing him to snap out of it, "I know it must have been…confusing."

"That's ok," James said softly, "I thought it might have been something I did…was it?"

"Not this time," Lily smiled, "It's just…problems at home."  
"Is it serious?" James asked looking concerned again.

"Depends what way you want to look at it," Lily said, "I mean I'm not…in danger of anything if that's what you're thinking."  
"Oh…" James said looking a little more relaxed before he noticed that Lily was looking a little uncomfortable.

"It's ok, Lily," he said gently, "You don't have to tell me anything; it's none of my business. I understand that we've never been…close. It's perfectly clear why you wouldn't want to." Lily nodded although what he had said made her look even more uncomfortable. It was true that she and James had never been close but she had the strongest urge just to tell him what was going on, even if Alice, her closest friend, didn't exactly know the full story. It wasn't like she couldn't trust Alice, it was just that she had never been comfortable talking about her relationship with her sister; she knew it would make her emotional. But now that James had seen her reaction beforehand, there was nothing left to hide with him. It was her chance to just let it all out. But then again it _**was**_ James Potter. Would he just blab it out to everyone to show off the fact that he had finally cracked Lily Evans? Could she trust him with something that made her feel such powerful emotions?

"James," She said nervously and James looked slightly taken aback that she was using his first name, "If I told you something…would you keep it a secret?"

"If you wanted me to," James answered.

"You promise?" Lily asked with a deep breath, "Because if you say you do and then you don't I'll never speak to you or look at you again and I mean that."

"And you'd honestly think I'd be able to deal with that?" James said seriously, "I'd never do anything to make you miserable Lily or-." But he decided to stop there, he wasn't about to put her off by telling her that the strongest reason for his agreement would be that he couldn't bear never to hear his name with her voice, or to be under the gaze of her beautiful green stare ever again.  
"So you promise then?"

"With my life," James said.

"Right then," Lily said gingerly, "Ok well…me and my sister don't get along...we used to…before I found out that I was a witch."  
"Oh," James said softly, not quite sure at this moment in time why this was something so secretive, "Didn't she…approve?"

"No it wasn't that," Lily said, meeting his gaze, a lump growing in her throat, "She wished she was one too. She even wrote a letter to Dumbledore asking if he could just let her in, just this once. But he wouldn't because she doesn't have any magical blood…and now she hates me because Severus and I read the letter. And now she calls me a freak and tells me that I'm no longer her sister and as soon as she moves out of my parents house she'll never see me ever again."  
"I'm sure she doesn't hate you, Lily. She's just angry and embarrassed," James tried but Lily gave a sad laugh.

"I don't think you can hate anyone anymore than she does me," She said, and once again, her eyes were full of tears.

"Sorry," She said, hurriedly wiping away the tears with the back of her hand, leaving eye pencil smudges across her pale skin, "I'm being stupid." It was then that James realised why she had wanted to keep this to herself; it made her emotional, and in her eyes, vulnerable. She didn't want people to see that; she was sassy, witty Lily Evans with lightning fast come backs; she didn't want people to have anything against her. So why was she telling him of all people? Could there possibly be hope for them? Whatever it meant, even if he didn't understand, he was grateful for the trust she had put in him.

"No you're not," was all James could say in reply. He had no idea what to do; he had never seen Lily like this, completely open with him, and he had no idea whether she would bite his hand off as soon as he touched her, seeing as his attempts last night didn't exactly do either of them any favours so he decided to play it safe.  
"Do you need a hug?" James asked sheepishly, but much to his surprise, Lily nodded and edged closer to James, burying her face in his chest as she continued to sob silently. Feeling her timid frame jolt with each sob, James wrapped his arms around her tenderly, focusing on her warmth and softness whilst he had the chance.

"I just want my sister back," she whispered, "We used to be so close…"  
"Family feuds never last forever Lily," James said, squeezing her tighter, ignoring the wet soaking through to his chest, "People grow up eventually and realise they've been stupid. It's not your fault you're a witch and she's not; it's just the way it was meant to be."  
"I'd give up all of my magic just to have my sister back," Lily admitted and James' heart sunk at the thought of it being the other way round, of Petunia having all the family magic, of never having met Lily. Would things have been easier, or would life at school have been dull without her? Both maybe. At least if James never got to hold her again or even to kiss her lips, he still had this moment to remember and he rather have that than to have never met Lily at all. All the heartache he had suffered had been worth just these few minutes alone.

"Lily…" James began but he decided not to finish it; what he would have said would have either made her his completely or ruined the moment altogether. It wasn't worth her leaving his arms.

"It's getting dark," she said suddenly and James' heart sank as she ducked out from beneath his arms; she had cottoned on and he'd blown it. He knew it. Picking up her bag and throwing it over her shoulder Lily turned back, smiling.

_**Maybe not then…**_  
"Thanks James," She said quietly, "For being there. It…means a lot." And with that she left, sending James' heart in a flutter, before she turned round at the last minute.

"But if you repeat what you've seen and heard I will have to castrate you."

**Incident number eight**

**6:30PM**

**Prom Night**

"I can't believe you're not going to be there," Alice said sadly, lifting her blonde hair as Lily did up the back of her dress.

"At least I won't be 'cramping your style' with Frank," Lily smirked, "You can snog the face off of him now without me pulling faces for once." Lily placed her hands on her friend's hips and rested her chin on her shoulder.

"You look really pretty, Alice," she smiled into the mirror in front of them.

"Bloody hope so," Alice smirked, "Dress cost me enough."

"Give us a twirl then," Lily said sitting on her bed as Alice gave her a quick spin, the glittering powder blue dress floating around her, "I love it. It's very you."

"Think Frank will like it?"  
"If he doesn't he's blind," Lily smiled.

"How long until it starts?"  
"Fifteen minutes," Lily answered, "Is he coming up to get you?"  
"Yeah I made him seeing as we don't really need a limo to get downstairs," Alice said as she placed a sliver charm bracelet on her wrist, "Are you sure you're going to be ok up here?"

"Yeah I'll just finish off perfecting Dariverto or something."

"Lily can't you just…be quirky and turn up in something other than a dress?" Alice asked.  
"And where would I get the ticket?"  
"On the door?"

"And how would I pay for it?"  
"Look I'll put money towards it-"  
"No Alice I couldn't ask you to do that," Lily insisted, "Just go and have a good time with Frank. I'll be fine. I've gotten used to the idea of not going."

"But-"  
"Alice!" Lidia Bishop said as she waddled up the stairs in her tight fitting purple dress, "Frank's waiting for you downstairs!"

"Alright I'm coming," Alice replied, "Want me to come back early?"  
"Oh shut up Prewett and enjoy the prom!" Lily laughed, "I told you I'm fine. Now leave before I have to push you down the stairs."  
"No need for violence, Lily," Alice giggled as she hugged her friend.  
"Have fun," Lily said and Alice disappeared down the stone steps and into the common room. Lily waited upstairs as the sound of girls giggling and the smell of hairspray slowly faded until finally, she was left alone in the girls dormitories.

Giving up on the studying cover story she had told Alice, seeing as it was in fact very nearly summer and the end of Hogwarts anyway, Lily lay down on her bed, taking her wand out of her pocket, deciding that the best thing to do was to go to sleep seeing as there wasn't much else to do.

"Lumos colasia," she said quietly and lights sprung from the tip of her wand, casting rotating splodges of different colours to hit the ceiling. Lily lay with her hair sprawled out across the pillow, letting her eyes grow tired as she concentrated on the display in front of her. Soon enough they were too heavy to keep open and she drifted off into a shallow sleep until suddenly three loud knocks erupted throughout the room. Lily sat up straight immediately, her hair now growing a little bit of fuzz.  
_**Someone must have forgotten something.**_

But surely they would just come up and get it? It must be a boy because they couldn't get up the stairs. Maybe they were sent to get it for them. Lily slid off of the end of her bed and slumped down the stairs still a little sleepy.  
"What do you want me to-"Lily said but stopped as soon as she saw James Potter at the bottom of the stairs brandishing a beautiful green dress and a wary expression.

"What is that?" Lily asked stupidly as she eyed the dress.  
"I'm giving you one last chance to let me take you to the prom, Evans," James smiled, "So I thought I'd be your knight in shining armour and rescue you from your girls only tower."  
"That dress-"  
"Is yours," James finished, handing it to her looking a little worried in case she blew her top.

"Sorry?" Lily said absentmindedly accepting the dress.

"Well I sort of…found out why you couldn't go," James explained, "So a couple of days ago I made a plan to set up a whole series of questions so as when I asked you what your favourite colour was you wouldn't find out that I was really looking for your dress and needed to know what you'd like. But then the conversation dragged on a little longer than what I thought it would and we ended up…over two days…_**really**_ talking to each other. Properly. And…I liked that."

"You bought this…for me?" Lily asked, it still not quite sinking in.

"And this," James said, holding up a prom ticket.

"Oh…James…" Lily said shocked, "You didn't…you shouldn't…I can't take this!"  
"Too late," James said looking smug, "'I've bought it, I can't get the money back now. Whether or not you decide to spend prom with me, you have a dress and a ticket and you're going."

"Why did you do this?" Lily said, barely able to contain how truly moved she was.

"I wanted to prove to you, Evans, that we can get along, that I_** am**_ serious about you and that I really, _**really, **_want you to be my prom date," James smiled, "I already knew some of that stuff about you, Lily, about your strange buttery crusts, what makes you laugh, even your favourite colour. I just had to make sure that you hadn't suddenly changed your mind before I bought you the dress and the only excuse I could think of to get you talking to me long enough so I could ask you the question was 'I would get bored of you'. The truth is, it's been six years and I'm still not bored of you. You're just so unpredictable."

"I am?" was Lily's pathetic reply and she secretly cursed herself for not being blessed with poetic talents to give him a decent reply.

"So do you…want to put it on?" James asked and Lily blushed.

"Oh right!" she said stupidly, "Yeah, I'll erm…I'll go put it on." And with that she ran upstairs overwhelmed with emotions. James Potter had bought her a dress. James Potter had bought her a prom ticket. James Potter cared so much that he was willing to let her go to the prom without being on his arm, as long as she had a good time. It was the sweetest, most wonderful thing that anyone had ever done for her and it made Lily feel like the Wicked Witch of the West. How could she have ever been so mean to Potter? How had she had it in her to push him away so easily? Taking the dress out of its plastic casing, Lily undid the ribbon and threw it over her head until she felt the soft green material fall to the floor. It was beautiful, figure hugging and floaty with ribbon to criss cross over her back and glittering material that dazzled when the light hit it. Standing in front of a mirror, Lily rummaged around in her suitcase and found a white rose hairclip and wrapped her slightly frizzed hair into it so that it pulled back the hair that fell into her face but allowed soft, loose curls to fall onto her bare shoulders.

"Umm, James?" Lily said bashfully, "I don't have any suitable shoes…" Slowly descending the stairs Lily lifted up the dress and showed James the only thing that matched; stripy knee length socks that consisted of three shades of green.

"I think you'll get away with it," James said with a smile, trying so hard not to make it obvious that he desperately needed a glass of water after laying his eyes on her, "I doubt anybody will be looking at your feet when they see you in that dress…I doubt that slimy git Diggory will be able to keep his hands off of you…"

"Shut up," Lily blushed, "Anyway, I already have a date." And with that Lily stepped forwards and linked arms with James a large grin on her face, "Don't I?" Standing on her tiptoes, Lily planted a swift, soft kiss on James' cheek, making James' mouth feel like sand paper.

"Really?" he asked stupidly and Lily nodded.

"You're serious?" he repeated.

"For heavens sake James, just shut up and take me before-"

"Ok, ok!" James said hurriedly before she could change her mind, "It's just…hard to believe that's all."

"Well so are you," Lily said softly, and in one brave move, she slowly lowered her hand and threaded her fingers through his.

"Lily," James said uncomfortably, "You don't have to…you know…just because you're my prom date."

"I know," Lily smiled shyly, keeping her hand wrapped in his, "Now are you taking me or not?"

"Alright, calm down Cinderella; it's not midnight for ages!" James chuckled and feeling slightly dizzy, he squeezed Lily's hand tighter and led her downstairs.

"Did you see Alice's face?" James chuckled as he nervously took hold of Lily's waist, "I thought she was going to explode."

"Yeah she does get a bit excitable," Lily said, breathing a laugh as she placed her hands on James' shoulders.

"Yeah I noticed, "James said, his eyes concentrating on his feet.

"James, are you nervous?" Lily asked with a grin as they slowly began spinning.

"I've never actually danced properly before," James admitted, "And I'm suddenly very aware that you're only wearing socks…"

"Why is that a problem?"  
"Well there is a very high chance that I'm going to step on your feet, I'm not going to lie."  
"Oh," Lily laughed, "Well then why don't I just step on yours?"

"Ok," James grinned and stood still as Lily stood delicately on his shoes, making her face alarming closer to his.

"Better?" She asked and James nodded as he began to take her weight with him as they twirled around on the dance floor.

"Sneaky git," James said, shaking his head as he caught sight of Remus and Rachel Gibson in the corner wrapped so tightly around each other that it was hard to tell whose hands were whose, "I didn't think he was the type."  
"Hypocrite," Lily said.

"What do you mean hypocrite?" James asked looking puzzled, "I've never-"  
"No I mean, you're a hypocrite for saying Remus 'is not the type' when what you've just done is completely out of character yourself."

"No it's not," James argued, "You just never gave me the chance to show you how much of a gentleman I can be."

"Gentleman? What gentleman?" Lily grinned and James took a huge step towards his left causing Lily to slip and sink towards the floor as her foot went with his.

"James!" She giggled and James straightened up, putting Lily back to her normal height.

"Well then," he smiled and they continued dancing as he caught sight of a dancing Sirius, slowly lowering his hands so that they were alarmingly close to Janie Simmons' backside which was barely being covered by her short pink dress in the first place.

"I guess its not…alarmingly out of character," Lily admitted suddenly, "I never told anyone as much about…my sister as I have you, you know."

"Really?" James asked surprised, "I didn't think you trusted me that much...at all actually…"  
"Neither did I," Lily replied, "But I think I made the right decision. If you can go through this much trouble just to make me feel good regardless of my decision to go with you, I'm sure you'd keep my secret to keep me happy."

"I wouldn't risk loosing the fun of being yelled at by you again if you were never to talk to me again," James smirked and Lily thumped him on the arm, chuckling.

"I don't know what happened but suddenly I just wanted to tell you everything. I suppose it didn't matter anymore now that you'd witnessed…well my little breakdown. I didn't have anything to hide with you. It's good to have someone like that. Alice is a good friend, but I couldn't tell her; I know she wouldn't have thought so…but I would have felt…pathetic," Lily explained and soon James' grin faded.

"Lily…when we leave Hogwarts…will I still get to see you?" James asked and Lily looked up at him surprised.

"Why wouldn't you?" She replied and James suddenly became very uncomfortable.

"Lily tonight has been…amazing…and I don't want everything to have gone back to normal by tomorrow morning," he admitted, "I don't want you to go back to calling me 'Potter' and me calling you 'Evans' like we hardly know each other, or to go back to saying stupid things to you that I don't really mean, that make you angry and that make me think of all the things that I wish I could of said to you instead of making an idiot of myself because the things I wish I could say sound good in my head but incredibly cheesy out loud."  
"Well you can tell me them now…" Lily said softly; James Potter was suddenly looking very appealing in his bottle green dress robes.

"I doubt it," James said nervously.

"Why not?" Lily asked, "I'm not going to laugh."  
"Doesn't make it any less cheesy or any less difficult," James replied.  
"What if I told you…that it might just make me kiss you if you did," Lily said her voice almost a whisper. It was true that what she had just said had even taken her by surprise, but after tonight events, James suddenly turning into the only one that she didn't feel the need to hide her true feelings from and how well defined James' muscles looked in his dress robes, she had a feeling that whatever James said at the moment would be the most romantic, wonderful thing she'd ever heard, regardless of whether it was cheesy or just plain gibberish.

"What?" James said stupidly.

"Well it might," Lily said blushing now, not quite believing what she had just said, "You do deserve one I suppose."

"You don't have to-"  
"Oh, don't you get it?" Lily interrupted, "I…want to, James. I want to because I've suddenly realised that that if I'd only given you the chance then I would have realised much earlier on that you aren't the person I thought you were at all. If you were you wouldn't have gone through so much trouble just to make me happy...even if you were a bit of a git to begin with."

"Or I could have done it just to get you as my prom date," James said, receiving another thump on the arm from Lily, "Sorry, that was a perfect example of the stupid things I was talking about earlier."

"Ok so what were you covering up that time?" Lily asked, "What would you have said?"  
"I…I would of said that I can't possibly be happy knowing that you're not; prom would have been ruined if you were sat upstairs feeling miserable. It's your happiness that makes me happy. There. See? Corny I know."

"Only because you're so used to hiding it," Lily smiled, leaning closer.

"No it's really not," James argued, though a grin was slowly spreading across his face, "It's because it's corny no matter what way you look at it."

It was then that the music stopped and they were both sorry to part from each other but its true that it would have been slightly unusual if they had remained in the same position all night.

"My feet hurt," Lily said as they moved away from the dance floor, "Do you want to go outside?"  
"Ok," James replied as he bravely slipped his hand into hers and threaded their fingers together, delighted to find that she didn't protest against it. The air outside was delightfully cool for the summer although warm enough for Lily to feel comfortable with bare shoulders as they ventured away from the castle and towards the lake. The sky was a dark blue as the light summer evening gradually became blacker and the castle faded away as they reached the grassy bank.

James placed a hand on Lily's waist and she turned to look at him although the dark made it difficult to tell how he was looking at her. Suddenly she felt his warm hand slide along her cheek as his fingertips caressed her skin. Within a few short moments Lily could feel his warm breath tickling her lips and they parted willingly, waiting for his mouth to meet hers but it surprised her when instead she felt soft lips gently press against her cheekbone before his breath travelled to her ear.

"Your feet can't hurt that bad, you're wearing socks," she heard him smile and she breathed a small laugh; she'd been caught out.

"When did you know?" She smiled.

"The moment you spoke," James answered and suddenly he planted a soft kiss on her jaw bone, travelling down to her mouth before their lips finally pressed together.

_**Oh Merlin, who knew James potter was so good at this…?**_

"Sorry," James whispered, suddenly pulling away, "Are you sure that-?" but before he could finish his question, Lily groaned in annoyance and pressed her lips to his once again. James slipped the rose hair clip from her hair and threaded his fingers deep into her curls as they became loose from its grip, pressing their mouths harder together. Slowly their mouths opened and closed together, James gently caressing each lip with his one at a time, not allowing Lily any opportunity to fully explore James' mouth frustrating her to the point where she reached up and ran her nails through his hair in an attempt to open his mouth wider, but instead James took her wrists and lowered her hands, a smile playing on his lips. James raised his hands once more and took hold of her waist, running his hands along the silky material that hugged her curves and pulled her closer, but still his mouth didn't open wider.

"Oh for God sake, James!" Lily said breathily pushing against his chest, breaking the kiss, "It's not fair! Let me do something!"

"Err…I think I deserve to have it my way after waiting for six years for it!" James protested, "Let me have my fun first, Lily." And with a smirk, James pressed his lips to hers once more. James playfully nibbled on her bottom lip and Lily almost moaned in frustration; she hated craving for the taste of him but she couldn't help it. James Potter had become irresistible; she had lost the six year battle…but she wasn't unhappy about it like she should have been…it felt good to lose. Finally James opened his mouth and their tongues slid slowly together causing James to cling to her hair tighter and Lily to clutch his shoulders. Keeping one hand threaded through her hair, James lowered the other to her waist and pressed her torso tighter to his and the kiss became frantic as they began to grab handfuls of each others clothing, their breathing becoming heavier as each kiss slid into the next. Suddenly Lily felt James pull away and breathily, he buried himself in her neck, planting soft kisses on every bit of skin in his reach, travelling down to her shoulders before he held two long curls in each hand and draped them gently over her shoulders before he nuzzled between her neck and her shoulders once more, inhaling as much of her shampoo as he could.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he whispered in her ear as he held her close to him, felling her breathing slowly return to its normal state, "I love you hair."  
"Really?" She said almost inaudibly, "It's a mess at the moment. You hardly gave me any time to sort it out properly."  
"I don't care," James continued to whisper, and she could feel him smile against her neck, "I've always loved it…and your eyes…you're just ridiculously beautiful."  
"Shut up," Lily mumbled feeling slightly embarrassed.

"You are though," James replied, "You're also quite the err…vigorous kisser."  
"Shut up, James," Lily snapped although she was glad the darkness could hide her blushing smile. James breathed a laugh and wrapped his arms around her middle.

"I love you, you know," he said quietly, "Always have, always will."

"You don't know that you always will," Lily said quietly, blushing so hard she could swear she was luminous in the darkness.

"Yes I do," James insisted, "Even if you never love me back."

"I think that's about to change," Lily whispered and she pressed her lips to his once more.

**Three Years Later**

"Suppose I'd always liked him really, secretly, but then he was being such a Silly Billy to begin with," Lily said as she took her index finger and pressed the nose of the tiny baby in her arms. Slowly she walked over to the cot in the corner of the room and pulled back the small blanket.

"You wont be a Silly Billy with the girls in your school will you?" she asked the baby as she placed him in the cot and pulled the blankets back over him, "Of course you won't because you'll be so gorgeous that you wont have any problems with them will you? No you won't." She smiled and tickled the baby's tummy causing him to giggle and clutch hold of her hand, squeezing her fingers tightly.

"What's taking so long?" Came a voice as James stepped into the room, "There I am slaving over a hot wand-"  
"You mean calling for a take-away?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The point is that Harry is supposed to be sleeping isn't he?" James asked as he came closer to the cot to where the baby was still giggling, "Looks like I'm missing out on all the fun. What story was it tonight?"  
"Our one," Lily smiled as she hugged James' arm.

"…Did you tell him everything?" James asked looking slightly worried, "Because I'm not sure than I want our son to know about erm…some things."  
"Of course I didn't!" Lily said thumping him on the arm, "Just about how you appeared to be a bit of an ugly beast but then you rescued me from the dormitories of Hogwarts castle like a prince and treated me like a princess, proving me wrong."

"Yeah watch out for the ginger ones mate," James advised his son as he grabbed his finger, "The colour has hypnotic powers so once you've met one of them its hard to get rid of them. You're stuck with them for life…hey, what do you mean by _**ugly**_?"  
"Well clearly your not and I was wrong…otherwise Harry wouldn't be in existence now would he?" Lily said slyly.

"I think you need to prove that fact," James smirked, taking his wife by the waist.

"And your worried that I'm the one giving our son ideas?"

"Oh he doesn't know what's going on," James said leaning in for a kiss, "All he does his sleep, eat and gurgle."  
"James!" Lily giggled ducking out from under him.

"What, do you prefer it when we're outside like back then? Want me to put on my dress robes?" James asked but Lily squeezed out of his arms and ran from the room giggling.

"Well someone's eager!" James called after her, hurriedly following her out of their sons bedroom, "I'm sure no-one will see us in the garden, we could always test it out! Lily? Mrs Potter, your husband knows of a tree that the neighbours can't peek behind!"

Lily giggled as her husband caught her and took her in his arms, carrying her into the garden in the summers evening.

"Night son!" He called, but Harry had already fallen asleep to the sound of his parents laughter; scar free for only another year.

_**Author's note: Ok so this one is a little different to the others because it's my first short story and pretty much the only story which doesn't focus on two couples. I was a little worried that Lily would be falling in love with James a little too quickly which is why I set it over about a week to make it a little more realistic. Sorry about the slightly morbid last sentence but I hadn't done anything with Harry as a baby before and it's really sad how they only got to be a family for about a year but I did want to make it really happy with the time they had : ) Thanks for reading and as always PLEASE REVIEW! Means a lot : ) xxx**_


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